2007 Edmonton Real Estate Review

The year 2007 proved to have many ups and downs in store for the Edmonton housing market, but despite all the action, the market prices at the end of the year were still 12% higher than at the end of 2006.

For the month of December, the average single family dwelling price increased 1.5% from November and the average condominium price was up 0.4%. Over the span of the entire year, the average single family dwelling price rose from $341,993 to $382,022 (11.7%), the average condo price increased by 11.4% and the average price for duplexes and rowhouses rose from $295,178 to $306,967 (4.0%).

Overall, the average price of residential sales (which is comprised of single family dwellings, condos and duplexes/rowhouses) increased 1.5% from November to December and 12.1% in the past year.

For December, the average number of days that listings spent on the market was fifty-six.

To view the full press release from the Edmonton Real Estate Board, please continue reading.

2007 Housing Year a Roller-Coaster

Edmonton, January 3, 2007: In the beginning of 2007 housing prices continued to climb just like the year before but by mid-year the market had turned and prices cooled as the housing inventory quadrupled. Year end figures released by the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reveal the largest swings ever experienced in the local market. Despite the roller-coaster-like rises and falls, the market still ended up 12% ahead of last year’s prices.

“REALTORS® were assisting sellers to handle multiple offers and unbelievable short sales periods for the first half of the year,” said Carolyn Pratt, President of the REALTORS® Association. “The summer it was a buyers market with ten homes available for every buyer.” The sudden changes in market conditions made both buyers and sellers anxious and increased their dependence on solid market advice from their REALTOR®. “Now the market seems to have stabilized and returned to what we call normal,” said Pratt.

PRICES

Single family dwellings listed on the Multiple Listing Service® which sold on January 1 for $341,933 on average* were priced at $382,022 at the end of December. Although 11.7% higher than a year ago the December prices were off 11.5% from the peak prices in May. December prices were 1.5% higher than November 2007.

Condominiums on MLS® sold on average for $253,270 in December after starting the year at $227,428. They peaked in July at $271,908. Condo prices were also up 11.4% over the year and up 0.4% from last month. Duplex/rowhouse prices jumped 4.0% from $295,178 last December to $306,967 in December 2007. Duplex/rowhouse prices peaked in October at $367.964.

Despite price decreases in the last few months, year-over-year prices were up. The average residential sales price (which includes all types of residential property) was up 1.5% from last month at $329,705 and up 12.1% when compared to last December prices.

SALES

“The rapidly increases in housing costs forced more first-time buyers to consider the lower priced condominiums,” said Pratt. “As a result there has been a continuous increase in condominium sales in the past five years.” Total condo sales of 7,157 units in 2007 were up 6% from 2006 when 6,761 units were sold.

At the same time Single Family Dwelling sales on 2007 dropped back to 11,765 units sold. Sales of SFDS were higher in each of the past three years. SFDs now represent 69% of total residential sales as compared to 27% (up from 23% last year) for condos.

Total sales (including residential, commercial and rural sales) through the MLS® in 2007 were 23,333 units with a value of over $8.2 billion (up from $6.6 billion in 2006).

In December the residential sales to listing ratio was 62% with 1,388 listings and 857 sales. For the year there were 41,030 residential listings with 20,544 sales for a S/L ratio of just 50%. The average days-on-market at the end of December was 56 days with 7,094 residential units in inventory in the wider Edmonton market.

Despite the wildly dynamic nature of the market in the past 24 months, the number of REALTORS® (i.e. members of the Association) increased through the year from 3,104 to 3,241 which indicates some optimism in the market potential.

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* Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual prices, which vary from house to house and area to area. For information on a specific area, contact your local REALTOR®.

The REALTORS® Association of Edmonton (Edmonton Real Estate Board), founded in 1927, is a professional association of 3,244 Brokers and Associates in the greater Edmonton area. The Board administers the Multiple Listing Service®, provides professional education to its members and enforces a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Business Practice. The EREB also advertises property listings and publishes consumer information on the Internet at www.mls.ca and www.ereb.com, as well as in the Real Estate Weekly and on their web site at www.rewedmonton.ca. The EREB supports charities involving shelter and homeless through the Edmonton Realtors’ Charitable Foundation (ERCF).

Highlights of MLS® activity

¹ Residential includes SFD, condos and duplex/row houses.
² Single Family Dwelling
³ The middle figure in a list of all sales prices

MLS® Price Comparisons 2006-2007

For more information contact:
Jon Hall, Marketing and Communications Manager
Bus: (780) 453-9323
Fax: (780) 452-1135
E-mail: [email protected]